Giving Hope
by sassqueenregina
Summary: Three part story about a pregnant Regina, also with a focus on Henry. Set shortly after Robin's death.
1. Chapter 1

Part One

"Mom! Mom!" Henry's screams echoed loudly throughout the whole house. He felt a sharp pain in his knees as they made contact with the hard kitchen floor, but he didn't care.

"Mom!" He screamed again, shaking Regina's shoulders. "Mom, wake up! Please!"

He frantically searched Regina's pockets for her phone, but found nothing. His own phone was upstairs in his bedroom and conscious of not wanting to leave his Mom alone in case she woke up, Henry's breathing became rapid as he struggled to think what to do. His eyes scanned the room and fixated on a small black object under the kitchen table. Regina's phone. _It must have fallen out of her pocket when she fell._ Henry crawled across the tiles, grabbing the phone and within seconds, dialing 911. He knew that Regina would have wanted him to call Snow or Charming or Emma. He knew his mother's hatred of hospitals, but he couldn't risk it. She needed medical assistance.

"911, what's your emergency?" The voice on the other end asked.

"You need to send an ambulance, right away, my mom, she's collapsed, I don't know what happened, I just found her like this, I heard a thud and I came into the kitchen, and she's passed out on the floor, what if she hit her head, she's not waking up, please, please, come quickly." Henry's words flew out of him, his voice shaky and desperate, begging for help.

Henry gave the address to the operator, who reassured him that help was only 3 minutes away, and he hung up the phone and dialled Snow's number.

"Grandma! Come quickly! My mom, she's passed out, she won't wake up!" Henry cried as soon as Snow picked up the phone.

"What? Oh my goodness, Henry were on our way, have you called an ambulance?" Snow tried to keep her voice calm so not to panic Henry even more.

"Yes, yes, it's coming, in fact..." Henry heard the sirens outside and the red lights illuminated through his front door and into the hallway. "It's here, the ambulance is here. Just meet us at the hospital, ok?"

"Of course, were getting in the car right now, everything will be ok Henry. We'll go and get Emma too. Stay calm, ok? Regina is strong, she will be ok." Snow attempted to reassure Henry through the chaos taking place at his home. She could hear the voices of strangers, medics, as they asked Henry what had happened. She could hear Henry's heavy sobs and distressed voice as they placed his mom onto the bed and wheeled her out of the house and into the back of the ambulance.

"I have to go, Grandma. Were going to the hospital now." Henry hung up the phone and took a deep breath. "Please mom, please be ok. Please." Reaching out, he grabbed Regina's hand and squoze tightly, his face lighting up immediately when he felt her squeeze back.

* * *

Regina sat up in her hospital bed, scoffing as she tried to fluff up the pillows.

"This is ridiculous. Can I go home now, please? I just fainted. I'm fine." she frowned at Dr. Whale as he entered the room.

"You can go home in a second, Regina. But don't you want to hear what caused you to faint?" he replied, a big grin spread across his face.

Regina narrowed her eyebrows and rolled her eyes. "Well I guess you're going to tell me even if I don't want to hear it. But I already know, so you don't need to lecture me. I know I haven't been eating enough, ok. But I just lost my boyfriend four weeks ago. So excuse me if my mind has been elsewhere other than thinking about food." Regina swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, grabbing her clothes off the chair and heading towards the bathroom. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm getting changed out of this awful sheet you've put on me, and i'm going home."

"Just one minute, Regina." Dr. Whale prompted. "That's not what caused you to faint. Although you definitely should be eating more, especially now."

Sighing loudly, Regina turned to face Dr. Whale and asked begrudgingly, "Well what then? What caused me to faint?" She tried to read his face, not able to tell if it was something serious.

"Do you want to sit down?" Dr. Whale asked, gesturing back towards the bed.

"No. I'm fine." Regina stubbornly replied, crossing her arms. "Just tell me."

"Well, your blood test showed a high level of hCG present...hCG is the pregnancy hormone." Dr. Whale began.

Regina's face dropped but she remained stubborn as she waited for him to continue.

"So we tested your urine too, and that test came back positive. Congratulations, I would say that you are about 5 weeks pregnant." Dr. Whale smiled, but took a few steps back, cautious of Regina's reaction.

Regina stood still, motionless, her face completely frozen but then, suddenly, she burst into laughter. "That's funny, who you put you up to this? Was it Henry? Emma? Very funny. But seriously, why did I faint?"

"Regina...this isn't a joke. You're pregnant. We can do an ultrasound now actually, before you go. Give you a rough due date." Dr. Whale looked at Regina, who was still grinning, but he could see the confusion in her eyes.

"What...but...no. There must be a mistake, Whale. I can't be pregnant." Regina's voice cracked as she tried to make sense of the situation. "I can't." she repeated.

"Well you are. You might feel better once you've seen the baby. Why don't you lie back down and I will go and get the sonogram machine. Do you want me to go and get Henry for you?" Dr. Whale asked.

"No! No. Not Henry. No." Regina begged as she sat back down on the bed, her body shaking, her mind racing. As Dr. Whale nodded and walked out of the room she stopped him. "Whale!"

"Yes?" He popped his head back around the door.

"Can you get Snow for me?" Regina's voice was quiet now, innocent, scared.

"Sure." He replied, and left the room once more.

* * *

"Are you sure the potion worked? Maybe it didn't work?" Snow sat next to the hospital bed and held Regina's hand as she sobbed.

"I can't do this, Snow. I can't have a baby. Not alone. Not without Robin." Regina wiped at her tears.

"Yes, you can. Regina, you can do this. You are not alone. You have Henry and Emma and myself and Charming. You even have Zelena now. You are not alone." Snow met Regina's gaze and smiled as she reached her arms around Regina and hugged her tightly. "You are strong. You're a survivor. You raised Henry by yourself for 10 years. You can do this. Don't doubt yourself."

Regina managed a smile as she asked, "But how. How has this happened? It's impossible."

"Well let's see this impossible baby shall we!" Dr. Whale burst through the door, pushing the sonogram machine and whistling loudly.

Regina nearly jumped out of her skin and scowled at him as she placed her legs in the stirrups.

"I can't believe this is happening" She muttered under her breath as Snow rubbed her shoulder and held on tightly to her hand.

"And there he or she is!" Dr. Whale announced, turning the screen towards Regina and Snow so that they could see the tiny blob inside Regina's womb. They both gasped simultaneously and looked at each other, Snow crying and Regina still in disbelief.

"Congratulations! I would say this foetus is actually about 6 weeks old which would put your due date in December. We will be able to give you a confirmed date in a few weeks once the baby has grown a bit. But for now, make sure you're eating plenty and taking lots of rest. Difficult for you, I know, but if you want a healthy child..."

"I know." Regina interrupted. "But thank you, Dr. Whale."

"You're welcome." Whale failed to hide his surprise at Regina's gratitude. "Here you go." He handed her two sonogram pictures of her baby. "And you're free to go home now." He smiled and exited the room, leaving Regina and Snow both crying over the images of the unborn child.

"Look at that. How amazing!" Snow exclaimed, putting her arm around Regina's shoulders.

"I know. Amazing." Regina replied, stroking a thumb over one of the images. "Incredible."

* * *

Regina paced up and down the hallway, checking her watch every few seconds as she waited for Henry to arrive home. It had been one week since she found out the news that she was pregnant, and she was yet to tell her son. She had debated over and over again the perfect time to tell him, but the truth was, that there was no perfect time. This morning, Henry had walked in on Regina in a bout of morning sickness, her head shoved down the toilet. She had tried to reassure him that she was fine, it was probably some bad chicken or something, but she could tell he was worried. And after last week, she doesn't want to worry him even more. So today, when Henry returns home from school, she is going to tell him. That's what Regina is telling herself anyway.

Regina jumped about ten feet in the air when the front door finally opened.

"Mom? Is everything ok?" Henry asked as he shut the door and kicked off his shoes. "Am I late? Why are you stood waiting for me?"

"No. No. Everything is fine. I was just excited to see you. That's all." Regina lied.

Henry raised one eyebrow, unconvinced. "Ok..."

"Wait!" Regina practically shouted as Henry began to make his way upstairs. She grabbed his arm gently and pulled him back down into the hallway. "Come and sit down, I want to tell you something."

As they sat on the sofa, facing each other, Regina considered backing out of the conversation, saving it for a different time, but she knew if she didn't tell him now, Snow was going to do it. And she didn't want Henry finding out from someone else. She didn't want to be keeping secrets any longer. He had to know.

Regina took both of Henry's hands in hers and looked at him, immediately reassuring him when she saw the terrified look on his face. "Henry! I'm fine! It's not bad news, I promise. Well, I don't think it is."

"Mom..." Henry began.

"No, it's ok. Just listen. Just let me say it. So, last week, when I went to the hospital, I didn't faint because of stress like I told you."

"Are you sick?!" Henry interrupted.

"Henry! No! Just listen, ok?" Regina's voice was urgent.

Henry nodded.

"I'm not sick. I'm...I'm pregnant. 7 weeks now. Due in December." Regina paused to look at Henry's face, waiting for a response. She saw the shocked expression and couldn't tell if it were a happy or sad one. "How...do you feel about that?" She asked him nervously, her hands shaking.

Henry stood up. "Pregnant? Really? You're really pregnant?"

"Yes...Henry, are you ok? You're not upset are you, oh God..." Regina started to panic and she put her face in her hands.

"No, Mom, it worked. I forgot about it. I can't believe I forgot. Wait here." Henry beamed, excited, as he ran upstairs to his room, leaving Regina totally confused.

He returned almost instantly, running down the stairs, waving a piece of paper in his hand.

"Look, look at this!" He handed Regina the paper and her eyes widened as she read the words infront of her.

"Henry, what is this?" she asked.

"I wrote it. I wrote it 2 months ago. I overheard you and Robin talking about Zelena and the baby and how you wish you could have had his child instead. But that you couldn't. I heard everything about the potion. I heard how upset you were, that you wished you had never took it. And so, I took my pen and I wrote that the potion never worked. You can have children." Henry's face was glowing with happiness as he saw his Mom smiling back at him.

"Henry why didn't you tell me? I've been going crazy trying to figure out how this happened!"

"I forgot, I'm sorry, after everything that happened. And at the time, I didn't want to tell you because I wanted it to be a nice surprise should you ever get pregnant. And I didn't want you to be mad at me. For changing the past. You're not mad are you?" Henry asked, hoping that the answer would be no.

"Of course I'm not mad at you Henry, what you've done, is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Even if you did change the past, which I know you're not supposed to do, and I know I have lectured you about it. But you have given the gift of life. You have given me something that I could never be mad at you for." Regina took Henry's hand and placed it on her stomach. "You're going to be a big brother!"

Henry threw his arms around Regina and hugged her tightly, resting his head on her shoulder and she stroked his hair. This was utter bliss and both Regina and Henry had never felt happier in a single moment. Henry was overjoyed at the gift he had given his mother, and he was so thrilled to see her smiling and looking forward to life as she had spent the last few weeks shattered and broken after losing Robin.

Regina held on to Henry and kissed his cheek, telling him, "Thank you, Henry. Thank you so much." She closed her eyes and thought of Robin, thought of how happy he would be to find out this news. A tear escaped as she thought about everything she had lost but everything she was about to gain. If only Robin were here for this. _He would have loved this child so much._


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

The first few weeks were tough. Regina struggled as her body began to change, more and more clothes weren't fitting her anymore, and she found herself craving food she previously would never have touched. The morning sickness disappeared fairly quickly, which she was very thankful for, both for her own sake and for Henry's. For he was especially protective of his mother now, more so than ever, and even though he knew morning sickness was normal, he couldn't help but worry every time he heard her retching. He constantly was telling her to rest, lie down, sleep. Not to go to work, not to do anything at all. Regina appreciated Henry's concern, and every evening since telling him the news, they would curl up on the sofa together and Henry would rest his head on Regina's stomach as his mother reassured him that she was fine.

The morning of Regina's 12 week scan arrived quickly, and before her alarm even went off, she was out of bed. She stretched as she stood up and walked over to the curtains, pulling them open and smiling as she was greeted by the clear blue sky and the bright yellow sun. The perfect day. As she opened her bedroom door, she was hit by the smell of toast and coffee. Most mornings previously this had made her nauseous, but since her morning sickness had gone, she inhaled this scent deeply and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Henry." Regina greeted her son softly, placing a kiss on his forehead as she reached up to grab a glass from the shelf.

"Good morning, Mom. Oh, let me do that!" Henry replied, taking the glass from Regina's hand and pouring her some water.

Regina pouted at Henry, and placed her hands on her hips, sighing but not stopping him. "What have I told you? Henry, I can pour myself a glass of water."

"I know, I know. But, I want to help. Why don't you go and sit down and I'll bring your breakfast to you?" Henry flashed his Mom a big smile and Regina rolled her eyes.

"Ok. You don't need to do this, but I have a feeling that I'm not going to be able to stop you." Regina rubbed Henry on his back as she passed by him, and made her way to the table.

Henry followed soon after, bringing a tray that carried a glass of water, two pieces of buttered toast, a small bowl of porridge, and a banana and an orange. Regina giggled as he placed the tray in front of her.

"Henry..." she began. "This is wonderful, but I'm not going to be able to eat all of that. Why don't you take some of this?" she asked rhetorically, as she handed her son the bowl of porridge and the fruit.

Henry put the items back on the tray and shook his head. "No, come on mom, you need to eat lots for the baby. You're eating for two, remember?"

Regina sighed softly and raised her eyebrows at Henry, who quickly turned and left the room before she had the chance to say anything else.

"Well, I hope you're hungry, baby." Regina chuckled as she looked down at the small bump under her pyjama shirt and began to eat the feast her son had made for her.

* * *

"Regina Mills?" the doctor's assistant called out.

Regina nodded and stood up.

"Dr. Whale will see you now." the woman informed Regina, gesturing towards the door on the right of the corridor.

Regina smiled politely and walked over towards Dr. Whale's office, barely knocking on the door once before she heard his voice shout "Come in!" from the other side.

As she opened the door, she was met by Dr. Whale who looked her up and down, beaming with joy and proudly announcing that "You look wonderful! Look at that bump! You're positively glowing! Come and lie down!"

Regina took a deep breath and forced a smile at Dr. Whale who, despite all his best efforts, was still not Regina's favourite person.

"So, how have you been? I hope you've been resting up and eating well?" Dr. Whale asked, as he started to prepare the ultrasound machine.

"Yes, Whale." Regina replied coldly. And then with a softer tone, "Henry has been taking good care of me."

"Ah, yes. Of course. Good old Henry." Dr. Whale responded.

Regina forced another smile and waited for Dr. Whale to do or say something. Eventually the awkward silence was broken when Dr. Whale squeezed the cold gel onto Regina's stomach and Regina let out a shriek.

"Christ, Whale! You could have warned me!" she scowled.

"Sorry! Anyway..." Dr. Whale began to move the scanner over Regina's bump. "There you go! Hello, little one!"

Regina propped herself up onto her elbows so that she could get a better look at the screen. Her eyes widened and her face beamed as Dr. Whale showed her the life growing inside of her.

"So I would say that you are due December 24th. How nice! A Christmas baby!" Dr. Whale informed Regina.

"A Christmas baby." Regina repeated, although she wasn't fully listening. Her eyes were still fixed on the screen, trying to capture every single detail about her child.

"So your next appointment will be in about 6 to 8 weeks, when we will be able to tell you the sex of the baby! How exciting! My bets are on a boy." Dr. Whale continued, switching off the ultrasound machine and handing Regina four images of the baby.

"I'm not finding out the sex." Regina replied, as she ran her fingers over the pictures, her eyes filled with tears. "I want it to be a surprise."

Dr. Whale nodded and helped Regina back up to her feet as she tried to shrug him off and inform him that she could stand up by herself.

"You know, Regina, you really should take all of the help people are offering you. It's good to get as much rest as you can. You don't win a prize for being stubborn."

Regina immediately shot a death stare at Dr. Whale who put his hands up and apologised, "But that's none of my business. See you next time."

* * *

"Why am I even doing this?" Regina quietly asked her son, who was pouring everyone, except himself and Regina, a glass of red wine. "I'm sure they all know anyway. Snow probably told them and even if she didn't, it's pretty obvious." Regina rubbed her hand over her bump.

"Mom, relax. They are all going to be so happy! Come on, just come and sit down and tell them." Henry squeezed Regina's hand gently and she reluctantly followed her son out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Zelena, Snow, Charming, Emma, Hook, Belle and Rumple were all sat waiting. Regina glanced around the room and tried to keep her face from showing her confusion and disappointment at some of the people who were here. She knew that Henry would invite everyone in the family, and unfortunately for Regina, that meant Rumple.

"What is this? Why are we all sat in your living room drinking wine? We've never done this." Rumple asked Regina. "And you can't drink that." Rumple quickly took the glass out of his pregnant wife Belle's hand.

"Oh, sorry!" Henry stood up and ran back to the kitchen, shouting "I forgot, sorry, I'll get you some water!"

Rumple glanced over at Regina's empty hand, and then at her stomach. "And why aren't you drinking, your majesty? That's not like you." The corner of his mouth crept into a grin.

"Ok. Look. I didn't want to do this, but Henry did. Can we all just act civil and happy for him, please?" Regina whispered her shouting so Henry, who was still in the kitchen, couldn't hear her.

The group waited in silence for Henry's return, Snow on the end of the sofa, beaming a huge smile and sipping her wine, revelling in the fact that she knew exactly why they were all here. Henry sprinted back into the room after a few minutes, handing Belle a glass of water and apologising ferociously.

"Well, I guess I should tell you all why Henry called you here..." Regina began, looking at the floor and her arms folded across her stomach awkwardly. "Although, I know you've probably figured it out." She continued. "But.." she unfolded her arms and placed one hand on her bump, before smiling and looking up at everyone, "I am pregnant."

Snow immediately shot up from the sofa and ran over to Regina, hugging her tightly before pulling away and congratulating her, winking and confirming that she had actually managed to keep the secret. Charming was next to congratulate Regina, followed by Emma and then Belle who placed her hands on Regina's stomach and proclaimed that "I wish my bump was that small still, just wait until you're this big. It's not fun."

"Thanks." Regina replied sarcastically.

"Congratulations." Rumple finally spoke. "I take it is your beloved thief's child?"

Regina's eyebrows narrowed and her lips pursed into a scowl as she marched over to Rumple. "How dare you! Of course it is Robin's child. And don't you dare talk about him unless you want to lose a limb to a fireball." Regina warned.

"No need, dearie. You can realx. I was simply just asking." Rumple smirked as Regina unclenched her fist and went and sat down next to Zelena, who had remarkably remained silent the entire time.

"Are you ok?" Regina asked her sister.

"You're pregnant." Zelena replied, her voice shaky. Regina could tell she was upset.

"Yes, I am. A little over 12 weeks. Robyn is going to have a brother or sister! And you will have a niece or nephew. Are you not happy?" Regina was confused.

"No, I...I am happy...I just..." Zelena struggled to get any words out.

"What?" Zelena, what is it?" Regina rubbed her sister's shoulder.

"I guess it only really just hit me. What I did. To Robin. To you. I had a child with your boyfriend. Our children have the same father. How are we going to explain that to them? Oh my God, I'm such a terrible person." Zelena exclaimed, tears falling down her face.

"No! No, come on now Zelena. We've suffered enough of this, we fought for so long and finally, now, we are happy. We're sisters. I have forgiven you." Regina grabbed Zelena's hand and looked her in the eyes. "I forgive you." she repeated.

Zelena smiled at her sister before pulling her in for a hug. "I don't understand how you can forgive me, but I'm glad that you do. I'm glad we finally get to be sisters."

"Me too." Regina replied.

* * *

The movement woke Regina up suddenly. _What the hell was that?_ She rubbed at her eyes and sat up in bed. Then it happened again.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Henry!" Regina shouted, repeating Henry's name several times until he ran into her room, panicking.

"What!? What!? Mom, are you ok?! Is it the baby?!" Henry practically threw himself onto Regina's bed and sat close next to her, searching for answers.

Regina grabbed Henry's hand and placed it over her now 23 week old bump. "Can you feel that? It's moving!"

The feeling was like nothing Regina had ever felt before, and her eyes filled up with tears as happiness swept through her body. "It's moving!" she repeated as she looked at her son, who was crying too.

"Wow! This is amazing." Henry gasped.

Regina threw her arms around Henry then, and pulled him in close to her body, kissing the top of his head. "Thank you so much for doing this Henry, for changing my story. This wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for you."

"You're welcome mom." Henry whispered as they both closed their eyes and fell asleep together in Regina's bed.

A couple of hours later, Regina woke suddenly again. This time, breathing heavily and crying. This time, not awoken by the baby. Although she tried to keep quiet, Henry awoke soon after and tried to calm his mom down.

"What happened? Mom?" Henry asked.

"I'm ok. Don't worry, Go back to sleep. It was just a bad dream." Regina to reassure him.

"Was it about Robin?" Henry asked, although he could tell by the look on Regina's face that it was.

Regina remained silent and just nodded in response to her son's question.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Henry offered.

Regina shook her head, informing Henry that "I just wish he was here, that's all. I think feeling the baby move made me realise how much I need him here. How much he is missing out on."

Regina began to cry uncontrollably then, as she mourned Robin once more. Henry couldn't cope seeing his mother like this, and he tried his best to calm her down and comfort her.

"What can I do, Mom? Please, I'll do anything." Henry begged.

"I just want to talk to him." Regina sobbed, her whole body ached with pain.

Just then, Henry had an idea. "Could we try that séance thing you did when you wanted to talk to Cora? Would that work?"

"No." Regina replied through tears. "We don't have the person who killed him, or the object he was killed with. I've searched everywhere for ways to talk to him Henry, trust me, there is no way."

But Henry was adamant that he would find a way. There had to be a way, there was always a way. His brain went into overdrive and he tried to think of a solution. And then it hit him.

"What if...what if I write it in the book?" Henry suggested.

Regina paused briefly to consider it but then looked up at Henry and shook her head. "Henry, we don't know where he is. This is the problem. Hades said that his soul didn't go anywhere, it just ceased to exist. That's it. He's not in the underworld. He's just gone. There's no way to talk to him. Not even all of the magic in the world could help. He's gone forever."

"But can we really trust Hades though? And what's the harm in trying? If he's really truly gone, his soul isn't anywhere, then me writing that he appears to talk to you won't change anything. It wouldn't happen?" Henry tried to make sense of it, tried to predict the possibilites. "He wouldn't show up, right?" He asked Regina.

"I don't know Henry." Regina shook her head again.

"Come on, it's got to be worth a shot!" Henry got up out of bed then, and ran to his room, returning moments later with the book and his pen.

"Henry..." Regina began.

"No. I'm doing this. You need to talk to him. We need to try. If he is in the underworld, then hopefully this will work. If Hades was actually telling the truth, and he is just gone forever, then he won't appear? Nothing will happen. No harm done. We have to try!" Henry wasn't taking no for an answer. He began to write in the book.

 _And then, Robin Hood's soul appeared in front of Regina and Henry._

Regina closed her eyes and waited, although she knew that nothing was going to happen.

"No...it's not working." Henry whispered. "But, why? Come on, this isn't fair!" his whisper turned into a shout.

"Henry, you tried. I'm sorry, but there really is no" -

Suddenly, Regina's room was illuminated with a blinding bright blue light. Regina and Henry shielded their eyes and once the light had disappeared, they lowered their arms. Their faces dropped in synchronisation when they saw who was stood in front of them.


End file.
